This 2015 Article IV Consultation highlights that China is transitioning to a new normal, with slower-yet-safer, more sustainable growth. Growth in 2014 fell to 7.4 percent and, in 2015, is forecast to slow further to 6.8 percent on the back of slower investment, especially in real estate. The labor market has remained resilient despite slower growth, as the economy pivots toward the more labor-intensive service sector. Considerable progress has been made in external rebalancing. The current account surplus fell to 2.1 percent in 2014 from the peak of about 10 percent in 2007, and the renminbi has appreciated by about 10 percent since 2014 in real effective terms. Further progress has also been made on domestic rebalancing.

Projected Payments to Fund (SDR million; based on existing use of resources and present holdings of SDRs):

Forthcoming

2016

2017

2018

Principal

0.00

0.00

0.00

Charges/interest

0.12

0.12

0.12

Total

0.12

0.12

0.12

Exchange Arrangements:

China’s exchange rate regime has been classified as a crawl-like arrangement since June 21, 2010. De jure classification of the exchange rate is managed floating. On July 21, 2005, the People’s Bank of China (PBC) announced that the exchange rate of the renminbi against the U.S. dollar would be revalued upward by about 2.1 percent (from RMB 8.28/US$ to RMB 8.11/US$) and the exchange rate regime would move to a managed float in which renminbi’s value is set with reference to a basket of currencies. The stated intention of the Chinese authorities was to increase the flexibility of the renminbi’s exchange rate. The authorities indicated that they will not publish the currencies in the reference basket and their relative weight. The PBC indicated that it would adjust the exchange rate trading band as necessary to reflect market developments and financial and economic conditions. Under the new regime, the band around the daily trading price of the U.S. dollar against the renminbi was kept at ± 0.3 percent around the central parity published by the PBC while the trade prices of the non-U.S. dollar currencies against the renminbi were allowed to move within a certain band announced by PBC, which was initially set at ±1.5 percent and increased to ±3 percent in September 2005. In August 2005, the governor of PBC revealed that U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen, and Korean won were the main currencies included in the basket; and U.K. pound, the Thai baht, and the Russian ruble were among other currencies included in the basket. In May 2007, the band around the daily trading price of the U.S. dollar against the renminbi was widened to ± 0.5 percent. After maintaining the renminbi closely linked to the U.S. dollar between July 2008 and June 2010, the PBC announced on June 19, 2010 a return to the managed floating exchange rate regime prevailing prior the global financial crisis with the exchange rate allowed to move up to +0.5 percent from a central parity rate to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy. As of today, the band has been widened to 2 percent, allowing daily fluctuations relative to the central parity rate. The trading prices for the RMB against the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, and New Zealand dollar float within a 3 percent range of the current day’s middle exchange rates for the RMB against these currencies. The trading prices against the Malaysian ringgit and the Russian ruble float within a 5 percent range of the current day’s middle exchange rates of the RMB against these currencies. The trading price of the RMB against the Thai baht in regional interbank markets floats within a 10% range of the reference price.

On January 4, 2006, over-the-counter (OTC) trading of spot foreign exchange was introduced with 15 banks initially designated as market makers. The number of market makers has since risen to 31 with all the banks approved as spot market makers, and 27 approved as forward and swap trading market makers by the end of 2014. The centralized spot foreign exchange trading system (CFETS) remains operative, but its central parity rate (renminbi against the U.S. dollar) is now based on a weighted average of CFETS and OTC transactions. Under the new system, CFETS first inquires prices from all market makers before the opening of the market on each business day, exclude the highest and lowest offers, and then calculates the weighted average of the remaining prices in the sample as the central parity for the renminbi against the U.S. dollar for the day. The weights for the market makers, which remain undisclosed, are determined by the CFETS using various factors, including the transaction volumes of the respective market makers in the market. The method for determining is as follows: The CFETS determines the middle rate for the renminbi against the ringgit, yen, and the ruble similarly. The middle exchange rates of the renminbi against the euro and Hong Kong dollar, and pound sterling, respectively, are determined through cross rates by the CFETS based on the day’s foreign exchange middle rate for the renminbi against the U.S. dollar and the exchange rates for the U.S. dollar against the euro, yen, Hong Kong dollar, and pound sterling on international foreign exchange markets.

China accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4 of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement on December 1, 1996. There are repatriation requirements on proceeds from exports and from invisible transactions and current transfers. Starting on August 13, 2007, all enterprises (domestic institutions) having foreign exchange revenue from current operations may keep foreign exchange receipts according to their operational needs in their current foreign exchange accounts. With SAFE approval or registration, domestic institutions may open foreign exchange capital accounts and retain foreign exchange revenues from capital transactions. Domestic institutions that had no current foreign exchange revenue may purchase foreign exchange for imports in advance based on documentary proof of the payment and deposit the funds into their foreign exchange accounts. Individuals may, also open foreign exchange savings accounts and deposit foreign exchange purchased in accordance with the relevant regulations. There are no measures currently in force that have been determined to be exchange restrictions subject to Fund jurisdiction. However, China has notified measures to the Fund, pursuant to procedures under the Executive Board Decision 144-(52/51), which apply to measures imposed solely for national or international security reasons.

Exchange controls continue to apply to most capital transactions. Effective on July 1, 2006, quotas on foreign exchange purchases for foreign direct investment (FDI) were abolished, and domestic investors were allowed to purchase foreign exchange to finance pre-FDI activities. Since December 1, 2002, qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs) have been allowed to invest domestically in A shares, subject to certain restrictions, and all nonresidents have been allowed to purchase B shares, which are denominated in U.S. dollars or Hong Kong dollars. The overall investment limit for QFIIs was US$150 billion in 2014. As of the end of 2014, a cumulative total of 251 QFIIs had been approved, with a total investment limit of US$49.701billion. The Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme was introduced in 2004, and measures have since been taken to promote its development. Since May 1, 2006, residents can freely purchase up to US$20,000 foreign exchange and this limit was raised to US$50,000 in September 2006. Above this amount, purchases require relevant documents. In May 2007, the QDII scheme was expanded to allow qualified banks to invest retail funds in foreign equities. Effective July 5, 2007 the China Securities and Regulatory Commission extended QDII to securities and fund-management companies. The firms have to meet certain capital and other requirements. From April 2006, qualified insurance companies were also allowed to invest their own foreign exchange externally under the QDII scheme up to 15 percent of their total assets. QDIIs may also invest in foreign derivative instruments.

The use of renminbi in international transactions has been expanded. In 2010, international financial institutions were approved to raise funds domestically in renminbi for use offshore. Since August 2011, trade transactions between all provinces and cities in the Mainland with other countries may be settled in renminbi. Since August 17, 2010, eligible foreign institutions may invest in the interbank bond market in renminbi. The eligible institutions include foreign banks engaged in cross-border trade settlements in renminbi, the Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR region renminbi clearing banks, and foreign central banks and monetary authorities. These investments are subject to limits, but there is no minimum holding period. Starting from January 6, 2011, resident enterprises in 20 provinces and cities in the Mainland may use renminbi for outward FDI in those countries which accept such settlement. In December 2011, a new pilot scheme was announced to allow up to RMB20 billion in portfolio flows into the securities markets (through a renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme), and in October, rules were published to allow overseas firms to invest renminbi raised offshore in the Mainland as foreign direct investment. Since 2012 all residents and nonresidents can use RMB for FDI. RMB qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFIIs) may invest in domestic securities markets. Under the expanded RMB qualified foreign institutional investors (RQFII) scheme, Hong Kong subsidiaries of Chinese financial institutions, as well as financial institutions registered and operated in Hong Kong SAR, may invest in domestic securities markets using RMB proceeds raised overseas. RMB clearing banks were or will be established in Singapore, Taiwan Province of China, France, Canada, Luxembourg, Australia, Germany, Korea, and the UK.

As of 2014, resident-associated companies of multinational corporations may directly lend to overseas-associated enterprises within a certain limit; they may also provide loans to overseas-associated enterprises through domestic banks. Foreign loans to domestic institutions, with a maturity of more than one year, are subject to NDRC approval. Short-term external borrowings are subject to the limits of SAFE approval. All external borrowing must be registered with the SAFE.

Article IV Consultation:

China is on the standard 12-month consultation cycle. The 2014 Article IV mission was concluded on June 5, 2014 and the staff report was published on July 30, 2014.

Technical Assistance:

Technical assistance provided from 2001 through September 2015 is summarized in Annex V.

Resident Representative:

The resident representative office in Beijing was opened in October 1991. Mr. Alfred Schipke is the Senior Resident Representative and Mr. Waikei Raphael Lam is the Deputy Resident Representative.

World Bank-IMF Collaboration

(As of June26, 2015)

1. The IMF China Resident Representatives held discussions with the World Bank team in May 2015 to exchange views on key areas of reform to ensure sustainable medium-term growth in China, minimize risks, and improve the inclusiveness of growth. The teams discussed their agendas for 2015-16. The last such meeting was held during December 2014 in Beijing.

2. The teams agreed the focus of reform in China should be on shifting growth to a more balanced and sustainable path, along the line of the Third Plenum reform blueprint. Reforms should aim at preventing further buildup of risks stemming from rapid credit growth and quasi-fiscal spending, and move the economy to a more inclusive, environment-friendly, and sustainable growth path. Giving the market a more decisive role, eliminating distortions, and strengthening institutions will result in a more efficient use of resources, faster productivity growth, and rising living standards across the income spectrum.

3. Based on this assessment, teams identified the following reform areas as macro-critical:

Financial sector reforms. Further progress in financial sector reform is central to containing risks and boosting growth by facilitating better allocation of resources. Widespread implicit guarantees—of savers, intermediaries, and borrowers—and the cap on deposit rates distort the pricing of risk and borrowing costs, resulting in misallocation of credit and inefficient investment. Key measures in this area include deposit interest rate liberalization, stepped-up supervision and regulation of the financial system and overhaul of the system of resolving failed financial institutions. In addition, stronger measures to monitor and regulate the large shadow banking sector should be taken. Renewed focus on reforming the role of the state in the financial sector should be made, with particular emphasis on the governance of state financial institutions. More effective mechanisms to be put into place to ensure a functional crisis management framework is in place and more coordinated macroprudential monitoring is implemented. And there is a need to continue to push for innovations to facilitate greater financial inclusion for those households and businesses not served by the formal financial markets.

Fiscal reforms. Off-budget spending, in infrastructure but also in other areas, undertaken by local government-owned entities have led to a significant buildup of debt. Bringing these projects on-budget and strengthening control over public financial management will help control fiscal risks. Improving the fiscal framework is a priority for the medium term, including strengthening budget processes, data transparency, local government finances, and medium-term budget planning. Tax reforms—many of them planned and some already partly in place or in pilot form—will promote more efficient and inclusive growth. These reforms include extending the VAT to services, improving the progressivity of the personal income tax, and implementing a property tax.

Reform of social safety nets. Further strengthening the pension and health insurance systems—including by improving adequacy and expanding coverage—would have macro-benefits such as reducing precautionary household savings. It is also crucial to improve benefit portability across provinces and economic sectors. Reforms should be done in a way that ensures the sustainability of the social security system, including through parametric changes to the pension system and transferring the welfare and legacy components to the budget.

SOE reform. Reforms include opening up to full and fair competition activities currently reserved to SOEs, properly pricing finance and other factor inputs, requiring adequate dividend payments to the budget, and imposing hard budget constraints. Opening up the service sector to more competition will also be critical for generating the productivity gains necessary to fuel growth and for boosting household income, as services tend to be more labor intensive than industry.

Green growth. Air pollution, water quality and supply, and issues such as desertification, dependence on coal, and degradation of grasslands have social, health, and economic effects. Underpricing of energy and inadequate consequences for pollution have worsened these effects while contributing to China’s dependence on industry. Raising these factor costs to capture the cost of externalities and investing in renewable energy will make growth more sustainable and inclusive. This will also require mobilization of private capital and utilize the capital markets to support green investments.

Infrastructure. Investment in infrastructure has been a key driver of the Chinese economy, particularly during the slowdown around the Global Financial Crisis. However, the rapid pace of investment has in some cases left communities behind, and in other cases has led to excessive investment in projects with relatively low social or financial returns. Filling in the gaps of investment in social projects will make growth more inclusive while improving the overall social and financial efficiency of infrastructure investment. Measures to improve the process of approving new infrastructure projects will ensure that investments are focused in areas of the highest social return.

4. The teams agreed to the following division of labor.

Financial sector reforms. The Bank is working with the authorities on the development of a financial sector reform strategy. The Fund will continue to follow up on the recommendations of the 2011 FSAP and provide technical assistance to the Chinese authorities as needed.

Fiscal reforms. The Bank will continue to work with the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to help in implementing key reforms in public finance in the context of a proposed fiscal technical assistance investment project. The Fund will continue its technical cooperation on the fiscal framework and budgetary preparation, including strengthening the medium-term macro and fiscal framework, enhancing local government borrowing monitoring, and modernizing accounting and treasury management. The Fund will also continue to discuss the near- and medium-term implications of China’s fiscal stance and policy choices on the broader economy as well as implications for global spillovers.

Social safety nets. The Bank will continue to work with the Chinese authorities on reforms to improve the equity, sustainability, and portability of the Chinese pension system. This includes helping provincial governments in developing more centralized information systems. The Bank will also work with MOF to optimize fiscal risk management associated with social security liabilities in the context of the fiscal technical assistance investment project. The Fund will look at issues related to the how different social insurance schemes (including pensions and health care) fit into the medium-term fiscal and macroeconomic policy framework. The Fund will also review the balance between benefits and financing from different revenue sources, including social contributions and other revenue.

Green growth. The Bank’s focus on climate change and renewable energy in China will continue to emphasize cutting-edge renewable energy technologies, scale-up of energy conservation and investments in energy efficiency, and green building policies (for heat and energy efficiency). Engagements with a climate change focus will extend to expansion of distribution of electricity from natural gas generation, analysis of carbon capture and storage potential, and development of carbon markets. The Fund will continue to discuss options to capture the cost of externalities through the use of fiscal policy such as better calibration of excise and other taxes. It is ready to provide assistance on shifting the pricing and taxation of energy, and discussing the growth and fiscal implications of such a shift.

5. Teams have the following requests for information from their counterparts:

The Fund team requests to be kept informed of progress in the above macroeconomic structural reform areas, as milestones are reached and at least on a semiannual basis.

The Bank team requests to be kept informed of the Fund’s assessments of macroeconomic policies and prospects in the context of the Article IV consultation and staff visits, and at least semiannually.

The following table lists the teams’ separate and joint work programs for June 2015–June 2016.

1. The Asian Development Bank’s (AsDB) partnership with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has grown in many ways since the PRC became a member of AsDB in March 1986. The PRC is AsDB’s second largest shareholder among regional members and the third largest overall, as well as an important middle-income country client. By the end of 2014, the PRC’s cumulative borrowing from AsDB reached $29.35 billion with 215 loans for public sector projects. Of the total public sector loans, 56.8 percent was allocated to the transport sector, followed by agriculture and natural resources (11 percent) and water and other municipal infrastructure services (12.8 percent), energy (12.5 percent), industry and trade (2.3 percent), finance (2.3 percent), education (0.5 percent) and multisector (1.7 percent). Over the past 27 years, AsDB has helped finance 27 private sector projects in the PRC totaling $4.96 billion. AsDB also funds technical assistance for the PRC. By the end of 2014, AsDB had provided a total of $446.933 million for 714 technical assistance projects, consisting of $139.956 million for preparing projects and $306.977 million for policy advice and capacity development.

2. Overall, the PRC has demonstrated strong capabilities in implementing projects. The good performance shows the strong sense of project ownership among agencies involved in the design, implementation, and management of projects, as well as the rigorous screening process for development projects, particularly those proposed for external financing. Loan disbursement and contract award performance is good.

3. The PRC has demonstrated its strong partnership with AsDB by contributing to the Asian Development Fund, establishing the $20 million PRC Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund (the PRC Fund), and replenishing another $20 million to the PRC Fund. The PRC Fund—the first fund established in AsDB by a developing member country—providing technical assistance projects to support subregional cooperation initiatives, particularly Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) programs.

4. The Asian Development Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) 2011–2015 was endorsed by AsDB Board of Directors in May 2012. The CPS 2011–2015 is aligned with the priorities of the PRC’s 12th Five-Year Plan 2011–15 that intersect with those of AsDB’s long-term Strategy 2020, particularly the redoubling of efforts to promote socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable development. The CPS reflects the PRC’s changing circumstances as a rapidly growing middle-income country with increasing emphasis on innovation and value addition and South-South cooperation to underpin the evolving AsDB-PRC partnership. The CPS is built on three strategic pillars: (i) inclusive growth, (ii) environmentally sustainable growth, and (iii) regional cooperation and integration. It identifies four priority sectors for country operations during the CPS period: (i) energy, (ii) natural resources and agriculture, (iii) transport, and (iv) urban development. The sector selection reflects AsDB’s comparative strengths and expertise through its longstanding operations in these sectors.

5. Projected public sector lending in 2014–2016 will total about $4.13 billion, of which 32 percent will support the transport sector; 27 percent for agriculture, rural development, and natural resource management; 30 percent for urban development, water supply, and sanitation improvement; and 11 percent for the energy sector. Over 90 percent of the projects are located in the western, central and north-eastern regions in line with the CPS’s priorities of promoting inclusive growth and environmentally sustainable growth.

6. AsDB’s technical assistance will complement the lending program to improve the sector policy environment, support governance and capacity development, and strengthen the knowledge base and innovative features of lending operations.

Statistical Issues

Assessment of Data Adequacy for Surveillance

1. Data provision has some shortcomings, but is broadly adequate for surveillance. Priorities for improvement include national accounts and government finance statistics. Progress has been made in meeting the SDDS standard, as most of data requirements are observed although several data categories are compiled but not disseminated in accordance to the SDDS standard (for instance, the quarterly GDP is compiled on a cumulative and not a discrete basis). Some planned improvements include strengthening the data dissemination by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and revising the reporting codes and classification of BOP transactions to Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, Sixth edition (BPM6) by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). For a fuller discussion planned improvements see (http://dsbb.imf.org/Pages/GDDS/SummaryReport.aspx?ctycode=CHN&catcode=s1)

Real Sector Statistics

2. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) compiles and disseminates annual GDP by activity in current and constant prices (2010) and quarterly estimates of GDP. Both the annual accounts and quarterly accounts are based on the System of National Accounts, 1993 (1993 SNA). The techniques for deriving volume measures of GDP are not sound and need to be improved. GDP by expenditure is compiled at current and constant prices, but the constant price estimates are not published. Data on the expenditure components of GDP are not available on a quarterly basis. Nevertheless, the NBS has made a number of improvements to the range and quality of national accounts data, the most important being improving the exhaustiveness of the GDP estimates by activity. Further improvements are intended for both the annual and quarterly accounts, however, no target dates have been set. As in other countries, rapid economic change, including the expansion of the private sector, presents new problems for data collection and compilation. The ability to change the data collection systems is restricted by the decentralized nature of the statistical system.

3. Monthly industrial production, retail sales, and fixed investment indices are compiled with the corresponding month of the previous year as a base period but, no chain-linked indices are produced. Data revisions tend to be made without publishing the entire revised series.

4. Labor market statistics—including employment and wage data—are not comprehensive, and are only available on a quarterly basis.

5. In January 2001, the NBS began to publish a Laspeyres price index that provides a time series for each January to December including last month=100, same month of preceding year=100, and same period of preceding year=100. This more accurately reflects consumer spending patterns (e.g., the weight of services increased, while the weight of food declined). The number of survey items has been expanded to at least 600 for small cities and counties and more for large and medium-size cities (e.g., 1800 for Beijing). The most recent weights of the major CPI components were provided to the staff in 2006.

Government Finance Statistics

6. Serious data shortcomings continue to hamper fiscal analysis. Data on the social security and extra budgetary funds are only provided annually and with a long lag. Expenditure classification remains in need of improvement, mainly because data by economic type are not published. The authorities have indicated an intention to begin collecting these data and to develop accrual based measures of fiscal performance over the medium term while also strengthening the compilation of cash based GFS.

Monetary and Financial Statistics

7. In recent years, improvements have been made in monetary and financial statistics. However, the monetary and banking surveys lack sufficient detail with regard to bank claims on the government, hampering the estimation of the fiscal deficit from the financing side. The reported net foreign assets position of PBC does not include exchange rate valuation effects and interest earnings on foreign reserves. The PBC has also ceased to report separate data on central government deposits in its balance sheet since April 2005 because the MOF no longer distinguishes between central and other government deposit accounts. This change has led to breaks in data series of monetary base and monetary aggregates.

8. The monetary and financial statistics missions in March 2015 made several recommendations for improvements in monetary data compilation with a view to accelerating PBC’s implementation of the standardized report forms (SRFs). The authorities plan to finalize the SRF data for depository corporations by the end of 2015 and begin regular reporting of SRF data after PBC’s review and approval process of these data is complete.

9. With regards to financial soundness indicators (FSIs), the authorities expanded the data scope in early 2015 by including two encouraged FSIs for deposit takers in their regular reporting to the Fund.

External Sector Statistics

10. The data are compiled (in U.S. dollars) largely in accordance with the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5). From 2015, the data are complied largely in accordance with the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). The authorities continue their efforts to improve the coverage of direct investment transactions in the balance of payments (BOP) and IIP statistics, and progress is being made in developing these statistics. Since the International Transactions Reporting System is the major data source for balance of payments (BOP) statistics, in order to ensure its smooth operation, regular training programs for staff in the provincial offices of SAFE have been recommended. In 2011, China commenced participation in the Coordinated Direct Investment Survey (CDIS), although only inward direct investment positions are currently recorded.

11. Despite an ostensibly modest level of external vulnerability, there remains a need to strengthen external debt monitoring and compilation. In 2010, China started submitting total and public external debt data for the Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) database, a notable step forward.

Data Standards and Quality

12. China has participated in the General Data Dissemination System since April 2002, and the metadata posted on the Fund’s Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) are regularly updated.

Data Reporting to STA for Publications

13. Despite improvements in reporting a number of breaks remain in the series, and comparable historical data are not available. Reporting of data to STA for publication in the International Financial Statistics (IFS) has, in the past, tended to be sporadic and with a considerable time lag. Long time series for the consumer and producer price indices and industrial production levels are not available, although the comparison is made and available for each period with the same period of the previous year. However, the range of information is relatively limited, with no data published on wages, trade volumes, or prices/unit values.

14. China has reported general government cash-based budget data for 2003–09 following the GFSM 2001 methodology for publication in the 2011 Government Finance Statistics Yearbook. However, these data are limited, with no data provided on government transactions in expense, assets, and liabilities. The revenue classification does not fully distinguish between revenue and grants, tax and nontax revenue, and current and capital revenue. The presentation of expenditure by function is largely aligned with international best practice.

15. Owing to source data issues, the authorities have not yet been able to report a GFSM 2001 Statement of Sources and Uses of Cash for the budgetary central government accounts on a subannual basis. As a result, there are no fiscal data for China on the Principal Global Indicators website.

16. For reporting monetary data to the Fund, the authorities have not begun using SRFs. Monetary data continue to be reported using the old format.

17. The FSIs data currently posted on IMF’s website are available for all core indicators and two encouraged FSIs on an annual basis with data beginning from 2010. The April 2012 mission encouraged the authorities to compile and report the FSI data with quarterly periodicity. The authorities agreed with the improved periodicity for their FSI data, but indicated that they would prefer to move to semi-annual reporting prior to compiling the quarterly data.

18. The monthly time series on international reserves for publication in the IFS are now submitted on a timely basis. With regards to BOP and IIP data, the authorities started submitting quarterly data to STA for publication in the IFS and the Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook (BOP data are available on a quarterly basis starting in 2010 and IIP starting in 2011). Additionally, China participates in the CDIS as mentioned above but not yet in the Coordinated Portfolio Investments Survey (CPIS).

Data Dissemination to the Public

19. The publication of a quarterly statistical bulletin by the PBC has significantly improved the timing and coverage of publicly available data on the monetary accounts and the main real sector indicators. However, the monthly statistical publications do not contain many time series (e.g., unemployment) or the disaggregation necessary for analysis. Moreover, several important time series, particularly on the main fiscal variables, are not released in a systematic and timely manner. Extensive annual economic data are available in various statistical yearbooks, but these are published nine months or more after the end of the year. Nevertheless, in the case of quarterly external debt data disseminated in QEDS, time lag is around four to six months.

China: Table of Common Indicators Required for Surveillance(As of May 8, 2015)

1Any reserve assets that are pledged of otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.

10Interest rates change only infrequently; these changes are publicly announced.

1Any reserve assets that are pledged of otherwise encumbered should be specified separately. Also, data should comprise short-term liabilities linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means as well as the notional values of financial derivatives to pay and to receive foreign currency, including those linked to a foreign currency but settled by other means.